With the spread of modern electronic technology, it has now become commonplace for households and other subscribers to receive a variety of electronic services. For example, the majority of the homes in the western world now have telephones, televisions, and FM radio receivers. Further, more recently, to improve the range of television and FM radio channels available to subscribers, especially in areas remote from broadcasting centers, cable television is becoming ever more popular.
One problem which has existed with the growth of cable television has been the need to provide lines for it to each household which are separate from existing telephone service lines. Thus, if a subscriber desires cable television services, additional material and labor costs are necessary to provide the incoming lines to the household. This has continued to be the case even with the introduction of fiber optic lines for individual subscriber telephone service.